Changes: The Riddler (Arkhamverse)

Revision as of 03:42, 26 August 2019

"Are you ready for some more? Explore! Find my challenges. And when you fail to solve them and lie blubbering like an ignorant child on the floor, you will know that The Riddler... is better than you."

―The Riddler to Batman^[src]

Edward Nigma is a man who has spent a vast amount of his life studying, exploring and memorizing all the knowledge he possibly could. Being raised by abusive and neglectful parents, he strived to be the most intelligent man alive. His parents (primarily his father) refused to believe he could ever become smarter than them, often accusing him of cheating whenever he succeeded in school academics or trivial games. This may have been what caused his inferiority complex to become so deep that he feels compelled to always leave cryptic clues to anyone worthy of his games in an attempt to prove both his honesty and his intellect, initially taking on the moniker of Enigma.

As The Riddler, Nigma contacts Batman via radio and gives him the task of completing 240 "Riddler Challenges" spread across Arkham Island. Despite the amount and complexity of these riddles, Batman still proved victorious, in addition to disrupting the Joker's plans and riots at the Asylum that same night, and led the Gotham City Police to Riddler's location, where he was taken down and arrested once again.

More than ever, Nigma then desired to outsmart and humiliate Batman, before ultimately killing him, and makes it his top priority to come up with a puzzle that not even the Dark Knight Detective can solve. Within Arkham City, Riddler has set up hundreds of riddles and death traps for Batman, abducting a massive amount of innocent people to be used as bait in his traps. Watching everything from his newly formed base of operations within the prison, Riddler hopes to finally watch Batman fail to solve his puzzles and rescue the innocents caught up in them.

Biography

With an obsessive need for attention, Edward Nigma is determined to be the most outlandish of Gotham City's criminals, concocting elaborate series of clues and riddles around his crimes. Batman has proven a worthy opponent, capable of deducing the Riddler's plans, but Nigma is dedicated to creating a mystery the Dark Knight will not be able to solve in time.

Attributes:

Genius intellect
Driven by a need to test his wits against law enforcement by leaving clues to his planned crimes
Compulsive need for attention

Batman: Arkham Origins

"Think of me as an information broker. I've got data handlers everywhere - feeding me all kinds of interesting stuff!"

― Enigma^[src]

Arkham Origins Enigma — Enigma belittling the Dark Knight.

The mysterious stranger known only as Enigma first catches the Dark Knight's attention when he notices a disturbance in his cryptographic sequencer, leading him to a GCR comm link tower with a booby-trapped mainframe. After piecing together a crime scene that involved the death of a maintenance employee, the Dark Knight becomes acquainted with the computer hacker who would one day be known as the Riddler. Enigma also had the man he hired to rig the mainframe access panel, John F. Baker, killed at the Diamond District to clean any traces of his involvement.

Although at first the Dark Knight suspects the hacker to just be another crook on Black Mask's payroll and, while the hacker is indeed aiding Black Mask's schemes (though he is intially unaware that it was actually the Joker who hired him, disguised as the crime lord), it is soon discovered that Enigma has plans of his own. By using a variety of methods, Enigma has been able to obtain massive amounts of blackmail on Gotham's most powerful citizens, planning to release the information to the public in order to inspire chaos in the streets.

Dismissing the Dark Knight's attempt to stop him as a minor inconvenience, Enigma continued to taunt Batman as he attempted to disrupt all the radio towers, but eventually Batman succeeded. Finally, after destroying all relays, Batman came back to Enigma's HQ and destroyed his server. Enigma accepted temporary defeat, while claiming that he now holds onto the biggest, dirtiest secret that puts his collection of data to shame. Batman later unlocked Enigma's secret room, which revealed several items of interest: newspaper clips indicating Enigma's research on the Batman's identity (with the two main suspects being Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent), pressure pads, cages, and one green glowing question mark that would later be referred to as the Riddler Trophy.

It is later revealed by Alfred that Enigma's real name is Edward Nashton, head of the GCPD's Cyber Crime Division, explaining how he had so much access to the city's communications network and the extortion data he planned to release. With this knowledge in hand, Batman is prepared to apprehend Edward, who has since gone on the run, the second he resurfaces.

A coded message within the GCPD server and telecom rooms reveal that Nashton had only recently joined the organization as its Cyber Crime Division Head, revealing that he had joined the GCPD simply to gain inside information through his newly acquired access to the entire city's infrastructure and files, which would eventually be used as extortion data on all of Gotham.

Cold Cold Heart

The next day, just as Mayor Hamilton Hill was about to make Peter Grogan Loeb's replacement for GCPD commissioner, envelopes from an anonymous individual were supplied to various media outlets containing evidence strongly implicating Hill and Grogan for ties with the Maroni Crime Family. It is strongly implied that Enigma had been responsible for exposing Hill's corrupt nature and the ensuing six-day protests as his "biggest, dirtiest secret."

On New Year's Day, Mayor Hill eventually ended up resigning in disgrace from office, although he had not ruled out a possible attempt at re-election during the new year. Regardless of whether he'll run for office or not, his resignation meant Grogan would not become commissioner.

This meant that, ironically enough, Enigma's plans had a profoundly positive effect on Gotham City as they finally revealed the corruption and conspiracy within Gotham's infrastructure and allowed the public access to the knowledge and evidence they needed to force their corrupt public officials out of office and appoint more ethical and noble individuals instead. Whether or not this was Engima's intentions is unknown, though his previous statements of wanting chaos in the streets seem to make it unlikely, given that the resolution to Hill's resignation ended on relatively peaceful terms, despite nearly a week of protests, and not the destruction Enigma had envisioned.

Batman: Assault on Arkham

At some point, he managed to be recruited into the Suicide Squad, which resulted in him learning about the explosives as well as how to deactivate them. The Riddler had been involved in The Joker's theft of a dirty bomb with enough power to wipe out more than half of Gotham should it go off. Sometime afterwards, he managed to steal data relating to the Suicide Squad. He then entered a communication with Director Amanda Waller where he attempted to prove his superiority by giving her riddles for her to solve.

However, unbeknownst to him, Waller had deliberately contacted him in order to stall him long enough to get a pinpoint on the location of his hideout in the Gotham docks and have him taken out in a black ops operation by A.R.G.U.S.. Upon learning this, he lamented that he should have quitted while he was "still ahead." However, he was rescued by Batman from his would-be assassins, and then captured and interrogated by Batman himself as he tried to escape in the confusion, due to Batman trying to track down Joker's dirty bomb. However, the Riddler doesn't know where it was located, so he was then sent to Arkham Asylum. The failure of the black ops mission resulted in Waller sending in the Suicide Squad to recover data from the Riddler and presumably assassinate him.

He eventually encountered the Suicide Squad, who had been dispatched with recovering the data of the Suicide Squad members, although he managed to help them with getting rid of their explosive bombs by shorting them out via electrotherapy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to save King Shark from his explosive because his skin proved to be too tough to actually short out the bomb encased inside him. He also deduced that "Black Spider" was actually Batman in disguise, although he accidentally set off the electrotherapy voltage again after Batman shot a batarang into his arm. He managed to escape into the night after the Joker released the various Arkham inmates, taking advantage of the confusion.

Before Arkham Asylum

The Riddler eventually got recaptured and sent back to Arkham Asylum by Batman. During this time, he also got interviewed by Dr. Penelope Young. On May 27, he was given his first interview by Penelope Young, after Warden Quincy Sharp noticed rather threatening riddles graffitied into his cell. Although he attempted to deny the riddles were actually harmful, he ultimately proved the warden right when his riddle had him revealing the answer was a baby for all three by completely ripping off its limbs, although he assured the horrified Dr. Young that it wasn't his baby. As Young, under the direction of a Jack White, was trying to find a suitable candidate for the experimental Titan formula, she later interviewed Riddler on July 29, to gauge if he was that candidate.

He then revealed his childhood about how he had been abused by his parents, his father in particular, being treated as if he was a moron, with Dr. Young briefly pitying Riddler before he admitted that his father was right, that he did cheat at that contest at school. Eventually, by August 21, she had gone through enough interviews with Riddler and gotten annoyed by his immature behavior that she began to wonder whether he truly was a genius or just deluded. Riddler then attempted to ask if she needed his help, with her stating that she if anything is supposed to help him, with the Riddler subtly insulting her by claiming that she "was in the right place" if she actually thinks he needs her help.

When questioned about his various death traps, Riddler simply stated that if the Gotham citizens were smarter, they would just be amusing diversions rather than actual traps, and implied that they were meant to weed out those of inferior intelligence and guess she'll survive if he put her through them. He then took a notice at a photo containing a close female individual to Dr. Young, which caused her to demand that he leave and even call the guards. On October 4, Riddler was then interviewed regarding his obsession with Batman, which he denied having one and stated he just wanted to expose him as being no different than the other crooks, due to his philosophy that "no one's that selfless", and eventually entered a rant causing Dr. Young to demand for security to come about.

On January 16, Riddler entered another interview with Dr. Young, which she vowed as being the final one, and was in an uncharacteristically good mood, and implied that he was in high spirits because he knew he was going to be released soon (referring to Joker's impending takeover of the Asylum, although Dr. Young initially assumed he meant entering parole which wasn't due for another three years until he indicated concern that Joker might trash the city before then). She then tried to ask him what was the Joker planning, but Riddler refused to divulge any information besides it having to do with a surprise party for Batman.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

The Riddler was one of the many inmates who escaped Arkham Asylum after the Joker took control of the island. The Riddler made his way to a hidden location in Gotham City and contacted Batman by hacking into the communication signal the Dark Knight used to contact Oracle. In order to boast his superior intellect, the Riddler had organized a series of riddles around the island, ranging from a number of small trophies hidden in out-of-the-way spots to elaborate perspective puzzles. After escaping, he challenged Batman to find these, along with the additional challenge of solving riddles that described specific objects in various rooms.

Ark masn secure intensive1406 — The Riddler sending Batman a riddle via his communications system as he enters a room.

Batman steadily solved every riddle, with the Riddler boasting his superiority to begin with but slowly becoming more enraged with Batman. Before solving the last few riddles, Batman located the Riddler's signal and notified the police of his whereabouts. After solving his final riddle, the Riddler began to implement Gotham's "greatest riddle." But before he could do so, the GCPD broke into his hideout on 225 O'Neil Avenue in Old Gotham. The police arrive there and arrest Riddler as he quotes to Batman that he cheated on his riddles. Riddler question marks in Dr. Young's book are found on his page and many villains' pages. He saw the book and wanted to know about a professional's viewpoint on the inmates. Some might be easy to manipulate or great allies to have in his eyes.

After Arkham Asylum

TheRiddler AC — Riddler is ready to play in Arkham City.

After being captured by the authorities in Arkham Asylum the Riddler was placed back into his usual holding cell. Not long after he is seen meeting with the Broker to discuss the location of the Riddlers new hideout, which is somewhere in the currently unopened Arkham City limits. Using Poison Ivy's aid, the Riddler manages a miraculous escape and immediately proceeds to his new headquarters which is complete with a custom monitoring surveillance system that allows the Riddler to watch several unfortunate victims be "tested" through his vicious death traps.

Later, Nigma attended Two-Face's trial against the Joker as a juror, voting the clown guilty, claiming that the clown "was neither mad nor genius- just utterly disappointing." Sometime later, Riddler allied with Black Mask and helped him in his escape plans, which immediately failed.

Riddler also briefly contacted Hugo Strange. He states that his delusions of grandeur and obsessive riddle compulsion continues to rule his every move. Riddler, on the other hand, after using his communications network to contact him, had Strange on the ropes when he revealed that he knew Strange was using Jervis Tetch to brainwash and manipulate Mayor Sharp and that he knew of a "suit" Strange secretly wears and wonders if he is worthy of wearing it. The tables were turned however, when Riddler mentioned that after he defeats Batman, he will know who he is. Strange, basking in Riddler's shock and humiliation, revealed that he knew who Batman is and did not have to resort to childish games and puzzles to figure it out. Riddler begged Strange to tell him, but Strange scoffed it off, telling him that if he could do it, it must be child's play for him. Riddler never contacted Strange again after that. It also revealed his appearance: messy brown hair with glasses, green eyes and fingerless gloves with a question mark He is also wearing his signature green business suit with yellow question marks and on occasion his green bowler hat.

Batman: Arkham City

After Batman is imprisoned in Arkham City, Riddler kidnapped the prison medical staff and used them as hostages in his elaborate death traps and puzzles around the city, in addition to leaving over 400 secrets in the city that can only be revealed through interrogating his gang of mole agents that infiltrated the various gangs in Arkham City to "keep tabs on the so-called super-villains". By kidnapping MPT Eddie Burlow and forcing him to allow his men to kidnap the staff under the threat of murdering them, Riddler was able to formulate his challenge, lastly arranging for one of his agents to bring Burlow to the Solomon Courthouse to be executed. He also gave each of his hostages, barring the final victim, Anne Bishop, frequencies to his "Engima Machine" (which was given to Burlow) that would ultimately reveal to Batman the location of each hostage room, once Batman has found enough of Riddler's secrets.

Setting up a total of six different hostage rooms, Riddler forced Batman to participate in his complicated obstacle course-esque challenges and, should the Bat fail, would allow Riddler to execute the doctors. After Batman saved each hostage, he discovered Bishop lacked the Enigma frequency, revealing that Riddler was forced to retreat and keep the rest of his victims until he could compose more elaborate puzzles for the Dark Knight in his hideout.

Once there, Nigma strapped his remaining hostages, including MPT Aaron Cash, to explosive helmets that would immediately detonate should they stop walking in a circle. With Oracle's help, Batman was able to locate Riddler's hideout, where he grabbed the Riddler from the wooden floor above and, after freeing the rest of the hostages, forced Riddler to walk, as well as leading him to believe the explosives on the helmet were still active. After deciding it was enough torture, Cash and the medical staff returned with Nigma in tow to the Cathedral, where Riddler was detained in a makeshift prison alongside Bane until Gordon's forces were able to evacuate the safe zone.

It can be assumed that after the evacuation and shut down of Arkham City, Riddler was placed in temporary holding cells while Arkham Asylum was refurbished for opening.

Pre-Arkham Knight

Riddler ended up being among those released by the government into the streets as compensation after the illegal and unethical nature of Arkham City was exposed to the public and the ensuing scandal. Commissioner Gordon protested this decision as Riddler was insane and should not be let onto the streets, but was ultimately forced to comply to the judge's ruling.

Afterwards, he managed to purchase the Gotham Sewers, and during this time he also attempted to emulate various watchgroups who expose stuff against "White Knights" by giving details of what Batman did to him, only for this to backfire horribly by receiving a string of hateful emails in response. It got so bad he initially attempted to yank out the motherboard of the computer, only to suffer from electrical burns as a result, and eventually planned to find a hammer to destroy the computer. The only reason he didn't was because an email came in stating his purchase of the Gotham Sewer system was accepted, to his satisfaction. He also began working on death traps near the train station, and also placed a plant in the GCPD while placing Riddler trophies throughout Gotham.

He later participated in a meeting with Gotham's top criminal kingpins (Penguin, Two-Face, and Harley Quinn) held by Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight regarding killing the Batman. Scarecrow during the meeting then lured Riddler away for reasons Riddler deduced was so the former could appeal to the latter's ego, with Riddler denying he even had one. Scarecrow then explained to Riddler they had a mutual foe, and requested that he try and orchestrate a plan with them, with the implication that doing it alone may result in Riddler failing against the Dark Knight. Riddler then stated that "maybe, just maybe, if [Scarecrow's] lucky, [Riddler] will coincidentally put [his] entirely separate and superior masterplan into effect" if Scarecrow tells him the day his plan will occur.

To this end, he needed bait for his plan. He then called Selena Kyle, aka, Catwoman, under the pretense of requesting a job for her to do. However, largely because of his preening egotistical delivery and Catwoman being reluctant to do a job for a "insecure little power-mad man child", Riddler had difficulty getting her to agree, eventually resorting to granting her request for information on the plot to kill Batman in exchange for doing her job.

He then is working on one of his Riddler Robots, although he seemingly couldn't get it to work. However, this was actually a ruse to Catwoman in order to ensure she bought the claim that he needed batteries for the robots, either Stagg Enterprise's Nimbus tech or an equivalent from Wayne Enterprises. When "showing" her the battery, he then revealed the truth that she was to act as bait for Batman, as he had deduced their "base" relationship to each other, though Catwoman warned him that she may exact revenge on him when this was over.

Batman: Arkham Knight

"Why hello there, detective. Yes, it's me, your most feared nemesis, the Riddler! Congratulations are in order! For you have arrived early for this - the next generation of my Riddles. I'm afraid the full particulars of my plan will have to remain unannounced, for the time being, but I see no harm in rewarding the harmless little glimmer of initiative you have shown with a sneak peek, a preview if you will, of the kind of conundrum I have in store."

―The Riddler^[src]

The Riddler makes his first appearance just after Batman re-enables the bridge controls to save Oracle. He appears on the triple screen T.V.s next to the train station and shows a blindfolded Catwoman cuffed to an inactive electric chair. He welcomes himself to the Dark Knight and goes on to explain how Batman humiliated him after their last 'meeting' (referring to Arkham City). He expresses how Batman will not defeat him this time as it is 'impossible'. He tells Batman to come to the Pinkney Orphanage, where Catwoman is being held, or she will die. Left with no choice, Batman heads to the Orphanage to rescue Catwoman.

After Batman frees Catwoman from the inactive electric chair she was cuffed to in the main room of the Orphanage and takes the blindfold off, he appears on a big T.V and 'introduces' his assistants to Batman & Catwoman: Robots. After Batman and Catwoman work together to defeat the robots, The Riddler explains that Catwoman has a collar on her neck, that requires 9 keys to unlock, but in order to collect the keys Batman must face a series of challenges in order to do so. The Riddler also explains that Catwoman cannot leave the orphanage without the collar, thus it is up to Batman to save her.

As Batman completes The Riddler's challenges to free Catwoman of the collar he constantly reappears on the screens around Gotham city, boasting about how he is superior to Batman and that he will never win. After Batman and Catwoman work together to remove all 9 keys on Catwoman's collar; the two of them head for the exit of the orphanage but the Riddler himself appears in the main room, in a green giant mechanical robot. He fights Batman and Catwoman for a few moments but vanishes under the ground and tells Batman that in order for him to fight the Riddler, he must solve every Riddle in Gotham City.

As Batman comes close to solving last of Nigma's riddles, Nigma becomes increasingly shocked and frustrated. He nevertheless, boasts about how he is ready to fight Batman and will beat him once and for all. When Batman solves the final riddle, Nigma congratulates him, and Batman confronts him at the Pinky orphanage. The Riddler, in his robot, rises up from the main rooms floor, in a green shield ready to fight Batman.

The Riddler summons many robots to attack Batman. Batman destroys most of them with ease, but many of them are color coded only to Catwoman, meaning he cannot defeat them all. Catwoman then appears on top of a beam in the main room and jumps down to help Batman defeat the robots, much to Nigma's dismay.

After Batman and Catwoman, destroy each round of robots, Batman grabs Nigma from his robot and knocks him out of the floor. Knocked unconscious, Batman drags the Riddler into the Batmobile to take him to the GCPD. Batman explains to Catwoman his plan, (Knightfall) they share a kiss and depart. While Batman is driving Nigma to the GCPD, Nigma is frustrated and accuses Batman of cheating the whole time, claiming that Batman having Catwoman's help wasn't part of the rules for their final fight, and responding to Batman's observation that putting him in an impossible fight was hardly playing fair by arguing that Batman deserved to lose if he couldn't hack the robots' operating systems mid-combat.

After Batman locks him up in the Maximum Security Cell along with all the other villains, he refuses to believe Batman is Bruce Wayne either because he was jealous of the Scarecrow for unmasking Batman to the rest of the world first, or because he was bested time after time by a billionaire playboy or because he refuses to be wrong in his theory that "no one is that selfless", due to his past theory that Batman funded himself using money stolen from his enemies and complains how he is surrounded by inferior minds. Nevertheless, he remains in the maximum security cell, under close watch from the GCPD guards.

Riddler also appeared in a hallucination where he, alongside Penguin, Two-Face, and Killer Croc had presumably teamed up to capture the Joker by knocking him unconscious, and were discussing how they're to kill him, after he killed 50 of their men, with Riddler in particular impatiently insisting they kill him, especially before he wakes up due to viewing him as too great of a threat. True to Riddler's warnings, however, Joker revealed that he in fact had tracked them down and allowed himself to be captured by them before revealing his Jokermobile. Riddler then attempted to flee with the other two surviving crime lords (Killer Croc having been crushed by the Jokermobile's explosive entry earlier) while their men tried to gun down Joker and his Jokermobile. When cornered by the Joker, Riddler attempted to hold a female cop hostage to protect himself, although Joker shot her, with Riddler expressing horror at him doing such a thing before being shot himself. In another hallucination, he appeared in a newspaper article where it revealed that he had married Harley Quinn and was also an expecting father, the former having evidently having let go of The Joker some time after his death.

Catwoman's Revenge

Despite being in jail, however, he still made various plans. The night after his capture, he attempted to have his computer in his main base, located at Winslow's Toy Shop, create various Riddler-bots to bust him out of jail, as well as various humans at the toy shop keep guard via key cards, whom he paid via an electronic account. In order to ensure he wasn't suspected, he also called his computer under the pretense of hiring a lawyer. He initially intended to have the computer start the jailbreak protocol. However, because his computer did not understand the term "run", he was forced to hack into the system to start it himself via his phone.

However, Catwoman uncovered the location of the hideout via an informant, and after stealing the keys and disposing of the guards, broke in, albeit with a puzzle mechanism that annoyed her enough that she vowed this was officially the last time she had to do a puzzle to get through to Riddler. Desiring revenge against the Riddler for his earlier stunt in outfitting an explosive collar on her, she intended to steal his entire bank account of $2,730,000 as well as set the computer to self-destruct.

However, Riddler became privy to her actions, and had the computer deploy several Riddler-bots as well as various traps against her. However, Catwoman ultimately succeeded in exacting her revenge on Riddler and transferred the last of the villain's millions from his account and into hers, inadvertently aided by Nigma himself when his voice authorized her access during his gloats, despite his pleas for mercy. To make matters worse for Riddler, Cash caught on and heard the entire conversation, ordering several of his men to restrain and taser him, just as Catwoman initiated the computer's self-destruct mechanism and completely destroyed his base and the last of his robots and resources, cementing his defeat and imprisonment once and for all.

Nigma was most likely put on trial for kidnapping, aiding and abetting known felons, and attempted murder during the time of the Knightfall Protocol.

Personality

Edward Nigma is an insane and egocentric genius. Due to his troubled childhood where his parents abused him and robbed him of recognition for his intellect and accomplishments, he had an inferiority complex and grew believing himself the smartest man in the world. To prove this, Nigma would go to incredible, almost psychotic lengths such as selecting his victims and implicating them within death traps to prove their intellect, and clarify his honesty and intelligence, and anyone which he deemed as stupid would be killed. However he was willing to cheat to succeed and even those who did win Nigma would ignore entirely and come up with illogical, and quite frankly lame excuses for their victory. He constantly persists that Batman is a cheating fraud no matter how many times he won fairly, Nigma's ego cannot bend to believe that there is someone in the world as smart as him. His anti-social behavior, childlike characteristics such as a rash temper, recklessness, sullenness and an arrogant self-desire to always be the best leaves him a virtual emotionally crippled child at heart.

Since childhood, Nigma has had a penchant for riddles until it became the motif of his criminal nature and background. He carries himself in a quizzical manner, always repeating his favorite riddles and scribbling them in his cell at Arkham Asylum. Due to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, he will leave clues and riddles even when he knows he should not which occasionally has caused his defeat. He also has a fondness for the color green, dressing himself in the color throughout his costume incarnations and manufacturing most of his weapons, robots and trophies in the drab. Unlike other criminals who would kill their victims simply or over periods of excessive torture, Nigma would go to highly complicated lengths before doing such an act, including extremely intricate death traps, designed to test the victim mentally and physically until it either ended in their survival or execution.

Unlike the rest of Gotham's super-criminals, Nigma's main weapon was his IQ and as such did not need to arm himself with weapons or henchman, however throughout Gotham and Arkham City Nigma has single-handedly amassed the largest web of informants, spies and traitors within rival crime gangs, GCPD and even parts of the government, implicated to feed him updated knowledge to know everything that is occurring inside and out of Gotham. If his back is against the wall, though Nigma will take violent action such as attacking Batman and Catwoman in the orphanage in a mechanical suit.

Over the continuation of the series as he kept getting defeated by Batman, Nigma grew more and more obsessed and his mental health deteriorates further. Though he originally focused on submitting blackmail data to the public to cause a social upheaval, after encountering and subsequently being humiliated by the Dark Knight, Nigma finally founded someone whom he could consider his intellectual equal and the more he was beaten the more this became intense. Eventually assuring intellectual dominance over Batman became his one and only goal and was willing to place innocent civilians and later his allies to draw him out.

Since this and very similar to the Joker, another criminal fixated on Batman, Nigma is not simply satisfied with killing Batman but humiliating him in every way the Caped Crusader did to him and later crushing him underfoot after unmasking his identity and admitting that he was his intellectual superior all along. Although killing Batman would also prove he is inferior to him, especially if it was cause of his own creations. Nigma considers himself to be Batman's greatest enemy, putting himself before Joker, Bane and Scarecrow.

Psychological Profile (by Dr. Young)

The Riddler in B.A — The Riddler's photo.

"As with many of the inmates here, Nygma has an abnormally high IQ but this is tempered by his intense narcissism and his obsessive-compulsive need to devise and disseminate his (surprisingly ingenious) riddles and puzzles. If there were a way to break his histrionic behavior and its underlying ego-maniacal causes, he could be cured. It is a puzzle only I am truly able of solving."

Additional Notes

"I cannot help but admire the complexity, and yet apparent simplicity, of the many conundrums and riddles Nygma regularly present me with in his treatment sessions. Often I find myself working through them in my (infrequent) free time.

His obsession with displaying his own intelligence is the central trigger of his many personality disorders."

He seems to be hiding some sort of secret artifacts on the asylum's grounds.

Arkham Asylum Patient Interviews

Batman_Arkham_Asylum_-_Patient_Interview_Tapes_-_The_Riddler-0 — Batman Arkham Asylum - Patient Interview Tapes - The Riddler-0

The Riddler's Patient Interview Tapes

Tape One

Patient Interview #21, May 27

Dr. Penelope Young: Patient interview 21. Patient's name is Edward Nigma, also known as the Riddler. So, Edward, Warden Sharp tells me you've been leaving threatening riddles scrawled on the asylum walls, again.
Riddler: One would have to be severely paranoid to read threats into harmless riddles, Dr. Young. May I test you with one?
Dr. Penelope Young: Very well.
Riddler: What is it that walks on four legs, then two legs and finally three legs?
Dr. Penelope Young: A human being. As a baby it crawls on four legs, as an adult it walks on two and in later years it uses a cane.
Riddler: (giggling) Good try, but the answer to all three is a baby. True, it crawls on fours, but cut off its legs and it can wiggle on two limbs. Give it a crutch, it can hobble around on three. You see?
Dr. Penelope Young: That's horrible. How can you even joke about that?
Riddler: Easily, Doctor. It's not my baby.

Tape Two

Patient Interview #39, July 29

Dr. Penelope Young: Taped interview 39. Patient's name is Edward Nigma. At this point in time I have yet to decide if Mr. Nigma is a suitable candidate for the Titan process. I'd like to talk about your childhood.
Riddler: Miserable. Next?
Dr. Penelope Young: By all accounts that is where your fascination with riddles began. I believe discussing those years could explain your compulsive behavior.
Riddler: Very well... My father hated me. Always called me a moron.
Dr. Penelope Young: I see.
Riddler: I was determined to prove him wrong, so I entered a contest at school. A twenty dollar prize to the kid who could figure out an almost impossible logic problem. I won, of course.
Dr. Penelope Young: And that pleased your father?
Riddler: Hardly. He was convinced I had cheated. He kept yelling, "You must have cheated! Admit it, you moron! You cheated!" I swore I didn't and he hit me for lying.
Dr. Penelope Young: I'm sorry to hear that, Edward.
Riddler: Don't be. He was right.

Tape Three

Patient Interview #44, August 21

Dr. Penelope Young: Patient interview 44. This is yet another interview with Edward Nigma. I have yet to make up my mind whether he is a genius or just deluded. Whichever one he is, just beginning in his company is both irritating and exhausting.
Riddler: Hello, Miss Young. You look tired. Anything you need my help with?
Dr. Penelope Young: No thank you, Edward. I am here to help you. We all are.
Riddler: Forgive my arrogance, Doctor, but if you think I need your help, well, you're in the right place.
Dr. Penelope Young: Let's look at it a different way. Throughout your career, you have specialized in bizarre traps and convinced clues that, more often than not, result in the death of the unfortunate participants.
Riddler: And if the citizens of Gotham were smarter, my games would be merely an amusing diversion.
Dr. Penelope Young: Instead of deathtraps.
Riddler: You really should be thanking me. Weeding out the ignorant, the stupid, the useless. But don't worry, I'm sure you would survive. What a lovely photo you have on your desk, Doctor. Your family? Mother, perhaps.
Dr. Penelope Young: Put that down! Get out! Guards!

Tape Four

Patient Interview #55, October 4

Dr. Penelope Young: Let's discuss your obsession with Batman.
Riddler: Hardly an obsession, Miss Young. I simply feel an obligation to expose him.
Dr. Penelope Young: You know who he is?
Riddler: More important, I know what he is.
Dr. Penelope Young: What do you mean?
Riddler: It's obvious. The mask, the weapons, the scare tactics, he's a criminal. No different than Joker, Two-Face or myself.
Dr. Penelope Young: Most people consider him a hero.
Riddler: Most people are idiots. They can't see Batman for the villain he is. Riddle me this. How did he get his car and his gadgets?
Dr. Penelope Young: I don't...
Riddler: With money stolen from the criminals he "defeats". Why does Gordon turn a blind eye to his antics? Batman bribes him! The answers are right in front of your stupid, gawking face!
Dr. Penelope Young: Edward! Please, calm down...
Riddler: Wake up, Gotham! No sane, law-abiding man does those things! No one's that selfless! Batman is as vile as they come!
Dr. Penelope Young: Security! Security!

Tape Five

Patient Interview #76, January 16

Dr. Penelope Young: This is my final interview with Edward. I have gone as far as I can. I can no longer tolerate his mood swings and tantrums. I have more important work to be getting on with. He will be transferred to Dr. Whistler's care as of next week.
Riddler: Good morning, Doctor. How are you today?
Dr. Penelope Young: I'm fine, thank you, Edward. You're in a good mood.
Riddler: I'm always in rare spirits when I'm about to be released.
Dr. Penelope Young: Edward, you know you don't come up for parole for another three years.
Riddler: First thing I'll do is have dinner at that Italian place on 19th Street...
Dr. Penelope Young: Seriously, Edward...
Riddler: I only hope Joker hasn't completely trashed the city. Ah well, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.
Dr. Penelope Young: Wait, have you been in contact with The Joker? He escaped Arkham weeks ago!
Riddler: And yet, one hears things...
Dr. Penelope Young: What things? What have you heard?
Riddler: Oh, something about a surprise party for Batman, I forget the rest. You know Joker, yak, yak, yak.
Dr. Penelope Young: Edward, if you know anything, you've got to tell me! Lives could be at stake! What did Joker say?
Riddler: You forget, Doctor. I'm the one who asks the riddles.

Arkham City Patient Interview

Batman_Arkham_City_The_Riddler_Interview_Tapes — Batman Arkham City The Riddler Interview Tapes

The Riddler Interview tapes.

Tape One

Hugo Strange: (on phone) Do not fret, Mr. Mayor. Everything is under control… I promise you.
Quincy Sharp: It’s not that I don’t trust you, Hugo. It’s just… it’s just the headaches. The pain. They come all the time now.
Hugo Strange: Continue to take the medication.
Quincy Sharp: But-
Hugo Strange: It is late, Mr. Mayor. You are tired. You need your sleep.
Quincy Sharp: Of course. I need my sleep.
Hugo Strange: You will hang up now.
Quincy Sharp: I will hang up now. (ends phone call)
Hugo Strange: Imbecile!
The Riddler: I couldn’t have put it better myself!
Hugo Strange: What?! How dare you enter my office!
The Riddler: Oh, I’m not in your office… and please don’t insult me by attempting to trace this broadcast. You will fail.
Hugo Strange: I take it I am talking to Mr. Edward Nigma.
The Riddler: Do you know of any other inmate in your twisted little penitentiary who is a genius enough to arrange this little chat?
Hugo Strange: Narcissism – a compulsive desire to prove his intellect – and a predilection for riddles.
The Riddler: You’ve read my file!
Hugo Strange: Of course.
The Riddler: Good. Then let’s get started. How do you attempt to understand what is going on in Arkham City when all of the answers are strange?

Tape Two

The Riddler: Good evening, Hugo. I believe it is time for our one-on-one.
Hugo Strange: No. It is time for you to stop this and give up. My TYGER guards will find you and when that happens, I will perform the procedure on you myself.
The Riddler: Procedure? Oh, you mean what you did to all those poor fools back at the Asylum. To be honest, I think you did them all a favor.
Hugo Strange: How do you...?
The Riddler: How do I know that you requested access to all the most... forgettable patients and proceeded to melt their brains with the help of that confused milliner? Or did you mean, how do I know that you have been providing the ex-warden with your own special medication, no doubt intended to render his synapses more malleable to your suggestions. Or maybe you are currently wondering if I know about the secret panel in your closet. How it slides back to reveal what you want most. How you sit, wearing that suit, crying into your hands as you question whether you are really worthy.
Hugo Strange: What do you want, Mister Nigma?
The Riddler: Oh, that's easy. I want exactly what you want.
Hugo Strange: And what's that?
The Riddler: Batman. Dead. Humiliated. But dead.

Tape Three

The Riddler: Knock, knock, Professor. Guess who?
Hugo Strange: I grow tired of these insipid games, Mr. Nigma. If you wish to speak to me, my guards will escort you safely to my tower.
The Riddler: Please, Hugo. If you're going to set a trap, at least pretend to try harder than that.
Hugo Strange: No traps, Edward. I simply wish to grant you safe passage through Arkham City. I think the time has come for us to meet at equals.
The Riddler: You, Strange? My equal? I am the man whose cunning will soon have Batman lying at my feet, bloodied and broken.
Hugo Strange: Really?
The Riddler: Then I will pull off his mask and look into his dull, dying eyes. In that last instant he will know that I have finally beaten him and I will finally know who he really is.
Hugo Strange: My apologies, Edward. I see now that we are nowhere near equals.
The Riddler: Finally.
Hugo Strange: You see, like me, you are obsessed with the Batman, but unlike me, you don't know who he really is. Do you?
The Riddler: What?

Tape Four

The Riddler: I know you're lying, Strange. There is no way that you could have figured it out. It's some kind of trick. It must be.

Hugo Strange: Oh, I used no tricks, no childish puzzles. I simply created a psychological profile of the man most likely to be the Batman, and then matched it against the most logical candidate. I was right, of course.

The Riddler: Well, who is he?

Hugo Strange: Ah, but that would spoil the game for you, wouldn't it?

The Riddler: You must tell me! I implore you Strange! I--

Hugo Strange: Really, Edward. If I could figure it out, it must be child's play for you.

The Riddler: But I... I...

Hugo Strange: Interesting. Tell me, Edward. How is the Riddler like a blank dictionary? You're both at a loss for words.

Arkham Knight Audio log

Batman_-_Arkham_Knight_-_Riddler_Audio_Tapes — Batman - Arkham Knight - Riddler Audio Tapes

Tape One

Scarecrow: I thought it best we meet alone Edward.
Riddler: I know what you're doing Crane, talking to me away from Cobblepot and the others. You're appealing to my ego.
Scarecrow: Is it working?
Riddler: HA! I don't HAVE an ego, Crane. I'm far too brilliant. Especially for the likes of you.
Scarecrow: Of course, Edward. But nonetheless, we have a mutual foe.
Riddler: A foe I could vanquish with but one of my cerebral lobes intact! Yet here you are, proposing an alliance that would let you bask in my luminescent glory.
Scarecrow: But what if you failed, Edward? What if, by some underhand means, of course, the Batman were to humiliate you again?
Riddler: Absurd!
Scarecrow: I know, Edward, it's a frightening thought. How many failures can even your enviable reputation withstand? But if the Bat were distracted, tugged in far too many directions by too many threats, why, then you would be assured of the upper hand.
Riddler: I have... I- I- don't know how to respond to your ridiculous insinuations. So all I will say is this. Tell me which day you plan to attack Gotham and maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, I will coincidentally put my entirely separate and superior masterplan into effect.
Scarecrow: How kind, Edward. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Tape Two

(Phone ringing)

Catwoman: Who is this?
Riddler: Ah, Ms. Kyle. You have the privilege of conversing with me, The Riddler. Gotham's premier super-villain and intellectual colossus.
Catwoman: And I'm honored, Eddie. Really. Bye!
Riddler: Wait! Wait! I'll get to the point. I find myself in need of your unique skillset. Your "street smarts" as your intellectually challenged kind adorably calls them.
Catwoman: I'm going to adorably hang up on you, Eddie...
Riddler: No! No! Listen, I need... something acquired. Something valuable.
Catwoman: Sorry, Eddie, it's just that I have all these clients who aren't insecure little power-mad man children.
Riddler: Fine. You may name your fee.
Catwoman: ...Information.
Riddler: Ah, the most valuable commodity of all.
Catwoman: Scarecrow's planning something. Involving Batman.
Riddler: I might be furnished with the absurd particulars of his ridiculous scheme.
Catwoman: I'll get you what you want, Eddie, if you tell me what I need to know.

Tape Three

Riddler: Right. OK. Riddlerbot memory formatted, adaptive AI algorithms uploaded. Joints oiled. Now give my creation life! Damn it! Useless hunk of dead metal! Do you want to become a semi-automated theme park mannequin?! Because that's the fate in store for you!
Catwoman: Problem, Eddie?
Riddler: Ah. Ms. Kyle. You're here.
Catwoman: And you already have company. Almost, anyway. Did you lose your friend's batteries.
Riddler: Why, you...yes. In a manner of speaking, anyway. I'm depleted.
Catwoman: And always compensating for it too.
Riddler: Oh Catwoman. Your wit never fails to... occur. Now, I need you to procure a set of rechargeable energy cells for me. Stagg Enterprises' nimbus tech will work. I'm sure Wayne Enterprises has an equivalent.
Catwoman: Got it. It's been a pleasure as always, Eddie. Except for the talking to you part.
Riddler: Wait! At least get a glimpse at what it is you're supposed to be stealing! There. In the robot's chest cavity. Go on. It won't bite.
Catwoman: Eddie, there's noth- WHAT THE HELL? Eddie, make this thing let me go!
Riddler: BATTERIES? You think I needed batteries?! Oh, Ms. Kyle, you underestimated my bespoke power supply innovations. And that was your downfall.
Catwoman: What is this, Eddie?
Riddler: This is - you are - bait. You see, I've identified what I believe to [be] some sort of... attachment between you and Batman. The base nature of this attachment quite frankly disgusts me. But it will bring him here.
Catwoman: You'll regret this.
Riddler: The World's Greatest Detective does not frighten me.
Catwoman: He's not the reason you'll regret it.